Saudi startup Unifonic raises $21 mln in funding round

Saudi-based cloud communication startup Unifonic has closed a $21 million Series A funding round led by Saudi Technology Ventures, an independent venture capital (VC) fund anchored by Saudi Telecom Company, it said in a statement.

The funding round also say participation from the Riyad Taqnia Fund, a VC fund founded by Riyad Capital and Taqnia; Raed Ventures, a Saudi VC firm established by Almajdouie Holding; ELM; and Endeavor Catalyst, which is backed by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman.

The transaction represents the company’s first institutional capital raise. Funds raised will be used to scale Unifonic’s growth and sales in multiple markets and industries and invest in further product platform development, in particular, the advancement of its machine-learning models, the statement said.

Founded in 2008, Unifonic offers cloud-based communication tools to businesses and enables integration of text- and voice-based solutions via its API platform.

By combining cloud-based software, telephony APIs and real-time data intelligence, Unifonic eliminates the need for costly hardware infrastructure.

The company has been profitable for over 8 years, experiencing double-digit monthly revenue growth. It has grown to over 100 employees in 5 countries, it said. Its customers include Careem, Dominos Pizza, and Jarir Bookstore, among others.

Commenting on the deal, Reid Hoffman, Linkedin Co-founder and Chairman of Endeavor Catalyst, said: "Endeavor selects and connects the most promising global companies and entrepreneurs with experienced business advisors to help drive growth and economic development around the world. The founders of Unifonic were selected as high-impact Endeavor Entrepreneurs in 2013.”